More of these less-polluting e-ambulances may soon be hitting our streets.
The Toronto Paramedic Services (TPS) which has about 400 vehicles on the road is being called on by City officials to have a much greener fleet.
City staff wants the TPS to purchase greener less-emission producing ambulances and support vehicles in its upcoming purchases.
Moves for a greener fleet stems from an October 1 Climate Action report by the TPS Chief in response to a City General Government Committee and will be considered by City Council.
A motion requested the TPS explore the feasibility of purchasing zero-emission ambulance vehicles for future procurement and examine opportunities to reduce the carbon footprint of TPS operations.
The electric ambulances as this one is slowly taking to streets in Europe and other places.
The TPS said there are no suitable e-vehicles on the market to serve as ambulances and most of its carbon footprint stems from 45 stations it operates citywide.
Paramedic officials said there are no electric ambulances that currently meet the Ministry of Health’s stringent certification requirements for use in Ontario.
They provide paramedic care 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Its staff responds to more than 320,000 emergency calls yearly.
The fleet consists of 234 ambulances, 56 rapid response vehicles/supervisor vehicles and 105 support vehicles.
They said the TPS has installed green anti-idle systems and solar panels on all ambulances and is replacing end-of-life combustion engine vehicles with electric, or hybrid vehicles.
Paramedic officials say there are no e-ambulance on the market to meet ministry requirements.
“Toronto Paramedic Services continues to evaluate opportunities to green the fleet, including exploring electric ambulances that comply with the Ministry of Health’s certification requirements,” according to the report.
They said there are funds in their budget to support upgrades to reduce the program’s carbon footprint.
The report said the since 2017 the TPS has installed photovoltaic solar panels in eight ambulance stations and Tesla batteries in two others.
“Work is underway to retrofit additional stations with technology that aids in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” the Services said. “TPS continues to examine further opportunities to reduce its carbon footprint.”
They are building a station in Scarborough that is targeting Zero Energy and Net Zero Carbon through a highly-insulated and airtight building, with high performance windows, triple glazing, well calibrated window-to-wall ratio and building placement and orientation to optimize solar gains.
The facility will have a photovoltaic canopy in the parking lot that is expected to generate 800 megawatt hours annually.
It said an energy retrofit project of their Emergency Services Headquarters, on Dufferin Street, has become one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the City, featuring the largest solar carport which will produce 660,000 kilowatt of energy yearly, enough to power 50 homes.
The report states that while electric vehicle technology has advanced significantly, the market has yet to produce an ambulance that meets all certification requirements, such as sufficient range, rapid recharge capability, and the ability to carry all necessary medical equipment and personnel.